A browser is a client software application that enables a user to access and view electronic content stored either locally or remotely, such as in a network environment (e.g., local area network (LAN), intranet, Internet). A browser typically is used for displaying documents described in Hyper-Text Markup Language (“HTML”) and stored on servers connected to a network such as the Internet.
A user instructs a browser to access an HTML document, or web page, by specifying a network address or Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”), at which a desired document resides. In response, the browser contacts the corresponding server hosting the requested web page, retrieves the one or more files that make up the web page, and then displays the web page in a window on the user's computer screen.
Even though a user can navigate the Web by typing addresses and/or clicking URLs, the size and disorganization of the Internet often makes finding meaningful or desired content difficult. Web pages are designed to simply present information to users rather than to promote interaction between users and/or within the browser application. That is, there is no interconnection, communication, or exchange of information between web pages when rendered by a browser since a Web browser simply interprets the HTML document located at a particular URL. While Web pages often may contain links to other web pages, images, audio files or video files, there is no exchange of information between instantiations of the browser application. Conventional Internet Service Providers (ISPs) allow subscribers to connect to the Internet, but, in general, do not facilitate a user's online experience.
In contrast, online service providers (“OSPs”) such as America Online or CompuServe are constantly are offering new services and upgrading existing services to enhance their subscribers' online experience. Subscribers have on-demand access to news, weather, financial, sports, and entertainment services as well as the ability to transmit electronic messages and to participate in online discussion groups. For example, subscribers of OSPs may view and retrieve information on a wide variety of topics from servers located throughout the world.
OSP subscribers have received the benefit of enhanced online experiences due in part to the fact that OSPs facilitate interactions between the subscriber's computer and the online service provider using a variety of software protocols (i.e., communication conventions, rules, and structures), including application level protocols, for managing the transfer of data across the network and to the client application on the subscriber's computer. For example, OSP client applications promote interaction and information sharing between frames presented by the service in order to provide subscribers with a unique online experience unattainable by conventional ISPs.